Thursday, March 26, 2015

Ok... I am starting to really love P3Dv2 improvements over FSX: here is a picture of a draft DAS system on the first portal, the ground radar on the second and Tacpack-controlled TFLIR on the fourth one.... P3D allows you to implement render-to-texture images in XML panels in a very easy way... and there is A LOT one can do with this, especially for MFDs like the one on the F-35. Now... hold your horses... there are some bad news:
- To fully exploit this system, you probably need to be a full-time programmer...and I am not. So I'll stick to some basic functionality.
- You cannot actually drive the view orientation of render-to-texture cameras straight from your XML code (bummer...you could have had EOTS to track aerial targets around your plane...)
- There is an impact on the frame rate (albeit not as great as I feared)
- There are rendering issues in the 2D panel (you see in the pictures that some graphic overlays are missing)... 3D works fine.
- Apparently there are some bugs (ground radar sometimes failes to initialize)
- Memory consumption is higher...and P3Dv2 may be more prone to CTD.

I am considering Pros and Cons of this technology...but in the end it is a definite improvement over FSX.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

I am seriously rethinking my plans for the future, and I would like to start sharing my thoughts.
It is unfortunately evident that I do not have the time to develop a completely new product in 2015. Let me say that most of you have no idea of the amount of work needed to create a new aicraft, especially if you are looking to achieve a good quality level.

On the other hand, while FSX:SE brought new life to FSX, it is also clear to me that Prepar3D v2.5 development kit offers a much advanced platform for me to develop in, especially if in conjuction with Tacpack for P3Dv2.

Also, I am not completely satisfied with the quality of my previous projects - I would like to do higher quality stuff.

The scope of IndiaFoxtEcho project is, and has always been from the beginning, to create interesting military-oriented and possibly freeware add-ons for Flight Simulator X to fill some of the gaps in the scene...I had a lot of fun and learned A LOT about each and every aicraft I have designed - and I am really grateful to all the people that contributed to my designs.
So, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

So, what's next? Well, first thing I will release some minor updates to the existing projects (another small one for the T-45, the S-3B AI tanker, etc.).
Then... well... I am seriously considering to close the IndiaFoxtEcho project, at least in its current form, and support only Prepar3Dv2 + Tacpack on smaller, more focused projects.
The MB.339 and Eurofighter Typhoon projects are hereby "ON HOLD".
The new project being evaluated is a Prepar3Dv2 only, high-detail, F-35B project.

As usual, download is on the side bar.For the moment this and the F-14D update will only be hosted on this blog because, for some reason, uploading to Avsim and Flightsim is painfully slow from my home in these days...

Aside, in the near future I will probably start releasing P3Dv2-only updates for some projects... more news soon.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Here is a further update to the F-14D Super Tomcat... several minor improvements mostly in the cockpit. I am still not terribly happy on the whole package... but this should be an improvement over the previous releases in any case. Aside please note that this has been primarily developed in Prepar3D v2.4 and v2.5... it is fully compatible with FSX, but, for example, the glass scratch effect does render differently (and does not look that good in FSX IMHO)...but you can remove it at will.
By the way, please have a look at the readme file and in the "optional_features" folder - there you will find instructions on how to enable/disable some features - including the scratch effect and the working mirrors (which only work in P3Dv2).
VERSION 2.40
March 8th, 2015
NOTE: THIS VERSION HAS BEEN DEVELOPED PRIMARILY FOR PREPAR3D V2.X
- Added animated compressor to external model
- Pilot and RIO figures disappear from visual model if their weight is set to zero in the load manager
- Crew helmet visors are down by default (animated with the main canopy)
- New ASI/Machmeter model
- New Altimeter model
- New RMI indicator
- Improved gauges background graphics
- Improved gauges digits display
- Improved accuracy of some gauges
- Improved minor details in the cockpit
- Redone backlighting in the VC
- Fixed ADF frequency display
- Fixed clock animation
- Improved throttle lever animation (now with notches for A/B and STOP postion...Control+Shift+F1 to move to STOP)
- Added canopy glass scrathes (may be a little overdone in FSX... see below if you wish to remove them)
- OPTIONAL FEATURE: Possibility to add working mirrors in P3Dv2
- OPTIONAL FEATURE: Possibility to remove glass scratches
- OPTIONAL FEATURE: Possibility to remove ALL the reflections in the cockpit

For the moment the file will only be available on this blog - just to make sure everything works as intended. Download link is on the side bar as usual.

This is a new version of the F-35 project that improves the freeware version in several areas including new visual models, additional avionics functionalities (with TFLIR, DAS and ASR imaging support) and new flight dynamics.

FREEWARE DOWNLOADS

This section provides download links for the latest official releases of my freeware projects. Normally, these files are also uploaded to avsim.com and flightsim.com, although there is no guarantee that any external website has the latest version.

IF YOU WISH TO DONATE...

In November 2015, IndiaFoxtEcho Visual Simulation has been officially registered as a company and will venture into the production of payware add-ons.
This does not mean that freeware will be abandoned, but rather will provide the means for funding more complex (and hopefully better) addons. The fist two payware projects will be the new F-35 for Prepar3d v.25 and the Military Avatars Package.
Still, if you like my freeware projects and wish to make a donation here is a Paypal "donate" button.